


Evolving: A Pokemon Uranium Story

by GingerFloof



Category: Pokemon, Pokemon Fan Games, Pokemon Uranium - Fandom
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Relationships, Coming of Age, Fluff and Angst, Implied Relationships, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 06:15:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9110167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerFloof/pseuds/GingerFloof
Summary: Young Adrian begins their journey in the Tandor region with a starter from their father, who is hoping for a fresh start for the both of them. Can time really heal all wounds or are radiation burns too serious for such treatment?Based loosely on my playthrough of Pokemon Uranium. Kudos to StarlingJedi and Kami for their support!





	

Eevee

 

My name is Hope. It’s not very appropriate, but Momma had to have a way of telling us apart, you know?

When I hatched, I came out quivering. Momma said it was my hidden ability. For some reason it’s very strong in me. At first I was happy about it- I thought that Green Cross Breeders was famous for Pokemon with hidden abilities. But when they put me up against the training dummy, I just sat there and shook. And shook. And then I ran away. Of course, it all worked perfectly- that’s was how I was bred- with those abilities.

Momma gave me my name so that I would remember, when I find My Human, to never give up on myself- or on them. To never quit trying, no matter how badly I want to flee. I hope My Human- whoever they end up being- can help me live up to my name.

 

* * *

 

Kellyn

 

I open Auntie’s letter with a trace of regret. How long has it been since I have written to her? Work has been the have-all and end-all these past ten years. I can hardly say I enjoy it, but it is better than the hollow, empty feeling left in the wake of the nuclear blast.

Unfolding the lined paper, I scan the page and see her mention of my child. She says they are taking up a position as a research assistant with Professor Bamb’o. I wonder whether they are doing it to help Auntie or if it is simply the fact that they need to leave behind the confines of Moki Town- the place I abandoned them to when Lucille… I shake my head. No. This is a new beginning for them- for us. The least I can do it acknowledge that.

Perhaps...yes. I could get them a starter. The Top Ranger’s kid should have a good companion Pokemon. But what should I choose? I don’t even know what type of trainer they’ll become. I need something that could fit about any role… Or _change_ to fit any role. Smiling for the first time in months, I call up Green Cross Breeders to make an appointment.

 

* * *

 

Eevee

 

“R-Ranger Kellyn?!” stammers the receptionist. She checks her paper. “Of course, right this way, sir…”

I bounce up and down, excited. All my brothers and sisters pick up on the enthusiasm and begin to scramble around the confines of the pen.

“Hey-hey-hey!” chants my sister, punctuating each shout with a jump into the air. “Pick me! Pick me!”

“Do you really think he’s the guy?” asks a brother from another corner of the pen.

“Pick!” Bounce. “ME!” Bounce. Sis insists at the top of her lungs.

The man peers into the pen, looking us all over. My siblings all continue their dashing around, but like I always do when stared down by a rival, I go completely still. I feel my instincts kick in- my muscles are tensing in preparation for flight. Yet as I continue to lock gazes with the man, something happens. There is no enmity in his eyes, only curiosity. I relax, and the fear goes out of me.

“This one,” he says, pointing at me. I am astonished, and I am not the only one. “Oh no, not that one,” the receptionist insists. “I only work the front desk and even I know better than to pick her.”

The man checks a device strapped to his arm, flipping up the lid. “My Browser says she knows Shadow Ball and Hidden Power. With her timid nature, that’s a perfect fit.” “B-but…” the woman stammers as he lifts me out of the pen and deposits me on the floor outside. She looks positively ill. Then she brightens. “As a token of our esteem, why don’t you have another one- free of charge?”

My sister has finally managed to leap high enough to get her front paws over the railing. She wriggles over the top and then bounces triumphantly next to me. A corner of the man’s mouth lifts, and he agrees. “These two will be fine.”

 

* * *

 

Adrian

 

I yawn and stretch lazily, gradually coming uncurled from my ball within the sheets. How late was I up last night, in spite of Auntie’s warnings? I know that soon sleep will become a luxury instead of an entitlement, and yet I can’t seem to shake my night-owl habits.

I stumble out of bed and pull on my clothes, not even bothering to check my appearance in the mirror. Auntie says I look just like my dad- not that I can even remember well enough for a comparison. And not that I care.

She’s waiting for me downstairs at the kitchen table. “Good morning, Adrian. Did you sleep well?”

I nod in response, still to sleepy to form sentences, and she says without preamble, “I have something for you.”

“Oh?” I finally vocalize.

She holds out a pair of Pokeballs. My curiosity is piqued; Auntie was never a trainer, to my knowledge.

“Where’d you get these?” I ask. “Your father sent them,” she responds, “to commemorate your first day on the job.”

My hackles rise. Of course he did. For my father, me and work have always been inseparable, whether it’s his job or mine. He’d just as soon I lose myself in my duties as readily as he did when he became Top Ranger.

Auntie senses my frustration and smiles wanly. “It’s not what you’re thinking, dear. He wants this to be a fresh start for you. Think of this as a new opportunity.” I shrug indifferently and take the Pokeballs from her, huffing, “Fine. But the Professor said he was going to give me a starter anyway.”

Her smile broadens. “You can at least let them out and see what they are,” she teases gently.

Trying not to seem too eager, I press the buttons on each of the balls. Twin shafts of light burst forth, coalescing into small, quadrupedal forms. Liquid brown eyes peer up at me from beneath long, tapered ears. Two Eevees are sitting on the kitchen floor with puzzled expressions.

“Would you look at that!” Auntie exclaims. “This really _is_ a new opportunity.”

I sigh. “I dunno, Auntie. They’re pretty cute, but they don’t look like they’d make very good fighters.”

One of the Eevees takes offense to this, squealing in indignation, and the other looks petrified.

Auntie chuckles. “These Eevees have a lot of potential, Adrian. In a way, they’re a lot like you- they have no idea what their future holds or how it will affect them. Yet, given the right circumstances, they can become very unique and very powerful individuals.”

I half-listen, watching the Eevees stumble around in confusion. Whatever else they may be, they’re my responsibility now, and I’d better take it more seriously than my dad took his toward me. Maybe the Professor can give me some hints.

“I’d probably better head to the lab, Auntie. Thanks for the gift,” I tell her.

“You should thank your father,” she replies.

“I guess…” I don’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak, but I’m reluctant to accept any gesture of kindness from my dad after all this time. “See you soon.”

The first Eevee has to be carried to the lab. It hides in the hood of my sweatshirt and refuses to come out for anything. The second one roves eagerly ahead, darting playfully after the Chyinmunks scurrying across the road. I watch it in amusement as I head up the hill toward the lab.

“Wait up!” a familiar voice calls from behind as Theo comes charging down the path, kicking up dust the whole way. “Thought you could get ahead of me and take the best starter, huh Adrian?” I take a breath to answer, but as usual, he barrels on. “Well, it’s not gonna happen. I’m getting there first! Eat my dust!” He sprints the rest of the distance to the lab, whooping the whole way.

Theo and I have been friends since...well, I can’t really remember a time I _wasn’t_ friends with him. I was only six when I moved Moki Town, after all. Auntie says I could barely string two words together until Theo came along. I guess he helped me forget about the whole situation with my parents. Truth is, I’ve always been more of an introvert, and Theo is anything but that. He kinda helps balance out my more serious nature.

By the time I catch up to him, he’s already peering through the glass casing at three Pokeballs in the back of the lab. Professor Bamb’o looks slightly taken aback, but smiles when he sees me. “You made it, Adrian. Good. Theo told me you were going to be late.”

“Don’t you get a joke when you hear one, Pops?” Theo retorts, nose still pressed against the glass.

I shake my head with a grin and walk over to stand beside Theo. “Now that Adrian’s here, do we get our starters?” he asks, finally prying himself away from the case.

Professor Bamb’o looks slightly bemused, and becomes even more so when my Eevee follows me into the lab. “Is this yours?” he inquires.

“Yeah.” And then feeling a slight quivering at the back of my neck, I add, “Both of them.”

“Wow, cool!” Theo bends over to offer his hand to the Eevee on the ground, and it sniffs at it with great interest.

“But how…?” the Professor begins to ask, and then shrugs in resignation. “Nevermind, it’s not important.”

“I can still give you the starter I have here, if you like, Adrian, and of course Theo needs his.”

“Yeah! I want something super awesome and rare!” Theo is exuberant.

“Hold on, first I need you to take the Pokemon Trainer Aptitude Test.”

Theo frowns. “I didn’t study for any test. You never said there’d be one.”

The Professor laughs. “This isn’t the kind of test you can study for, Theo. It’s a test to see which kind of starter is right for you.”

Pursing his lips, Theo nods. “Okay then, let’s hurry up and take it.” After a few quick questions, the results are in.

“All right! Adrian, you seem like the kind of trainer who battles defensively. Orchnyx is the best pick for you!”

He hands me a Pokeball from the case, but Theo is already protesting, “What about me?!”

Professor Bamb’o sighs. “Theo...you certainly seem to know what you want out of life. You’re impulsive, impatient, and mostly care about your own desires. And yet…” he looks more closely at Theo, “I sense the seeds of greatness in you. The ability to completely transform yourself.”

Theo and I gape at each other. “Wow…” I whisper, in an undertone. “Deep, much?”

Theo giggles as the Professor continues, “Regardless, Electux is the best pick for you!”

Theo takes his Pokeball eagerly, and as we stand there with our starters clutched in our hands, I have to wonder, is _this_ the new beginning my dad envisioned for me? A quivering lump in my hoodie with it’s over-eager twin at my feet and who-knows-what else clasped in my palm? I look into Theo’s eyes. He seems so confident, so _ready_. I only hope that his optimism isn’t hard-hit by the real world.

I only hope we can both survive it.

* * *

 

A.N: Yes, my first two trades were Eevees. And yes, I am grossly overstating Hope's worthlessness as a fighter (she's actually pretty BA, but more of that in later chapters...) And also, yes, I did get Hope from my friend GreenCross, who introduced me to the Breeders Guild on Discord.


End file.
